A separate special investigation team (SIT) comprising officials from Gujarat police and CBI is likely to be constituted by the Gujarat high court to probe controversial encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others. A judicial inquiry conducted by magistrate Tamang has already concluded that the encounter was fake and four persons were killed in cold blood by the police.
On Thursday, the Gujarat high court asked the state government to suggest four officers, Central government to suggest three officers from the Central agencies like NIA and the CBI to suggest two officers.
Out of 13 officials to be suggested by the parties involved, the court will pick a few officials to constitute a SIT to carry out the controversial encounter in which four persons, including Ishrat, were bumped off by the Ahmedabad police.
The court was hearing a petition filed by father of one of the suspected terrorists Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai. Following the court’s suggestion, the petitioner’s lawyer Mukul Sinha has submitted a panel of four IPS officers Satish Varma, Rajnish Rai, Rahul Sharma and Tirthraj of Gujarat. The state government, Centre and the CBI will submit their panels a few days.
Mmbra-based Ishrat was killed in an encounter along with Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani by crime branch officials.